Military authorities repeatedly continue to claim that the military’s COVID vaccine mandate was legal before it recently was rescinded, and that military members who refused to take the COVID vaccine before that recission violated a “lawful order.”
Many lawyers disagree and believe the military’s COVID vaccine mandate was illegal, just as the military’s anthrax vaccine mandate was illegal as declared by a federal court in 2004.
No military or civilian court had decided whether the military’s COVID vaccine mandate was legal, and the military continues to do everything it can to avoid a court decision about that issue.
However, in fairness to the thousands of military members punished for not taking the COVID vaccine, we think the issue of whether the military’s COVID vaccine mandate was legal should be officially determined.
There is another way to possibly obtain an official determination of whether the military’s COVID vaccine mandate was legal: by utilizing provisions of the federal Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552a.
The Privacy Act requires the federal government to provide, upon request, any person a copy of all records and other information the government maintains about that person.
The Privacy Act also requires that the federal government correct/delete, upon request, all records and other information maintained by the government that are not “accurate,” “timely,” “relevant” and “complete.”
The above means that anyone can get a copy of all documents the military has about that individual and require any statements in those records that are not accurate, timely, relevant and complete to be deleted or otherwise changed to cure any error.
Please see attached a sample, model Privacy Act request that you or anyone can revise to create a Privacy Act request personalized for you that you can submit to any federal government agency to obtain a copy of all documents that agency possesses about you.
Feel free to write your own Privacy Act letter and submit it to the Privacy Act officer (probably the same at the FOIA officer) and/or to your highest level commander at your military base.
That should result in your receiving a copy of all records/information the military maintains about your refusal to take the COVID vaccine and in your being able to cause those records to be deleted/corrected if they are not accurate, timely, relevant and complete.
In particular, obtaining your military records about your failure to take the COVID vaccine might enable you to request correction of, and thereby obtain an official determination of the accuracy of, any statement in those records that you violated a “lawful order” by failing to take the COVID vaccine.
Do you want to know what statements about you and your failure to take the COVID vaccine are being maintained by the military?
If yes, prepare and send a letter requesting that information from the military pursuant to the Privacy Act. You can do that regardless of whether you presently are in the military or a civilian.
ONE IMPORTANT EXCEPTION/CAVEAT: DO NOT SEND A PRIVACY ACT REQUEST FOR YOUR COVID RELATED DOCUMENT WHILE YOU ARE A PLAINTIFF IN A LAWSUIT ABOUT COVID ISSUES, TO AVOID YOUR LAWSUIT POSSIBLY BEING DISMISSED. .I encourage you to send this email to current and former members of the military so that they, and current and former members of the military they know, can know about these opportunities to access and correct military records using the Privacy Act.
Feel free to send me for review and comment any letter you propose to send to request from the military documents about your not taking the COVID vaccine, and any other question you may have.
Thank you for considering this.
Mike Rose
STARRS Executive Vice President and General Counsel
Mike Rose Law Firm, PC
843 478 7595 (voice/text)
Word Document: MODEL PRIVACY ACT REQUEST FOR ACCESS TO VACCINE RELATED RECORDS – 3.5.23
PDF: MODEL PRIVACY ACT REQUEST FOR ACCESS TO VACCINE RELATED RECORDS – 3.5.23
TEXT:
MODEL PRIVACY ACT REQUEST FOR DISCLOSURE
DIRECTIONS: FILL IN INFORMATION WHERE INDICATED BELOW TO CREATE YOUR PRIVACY ACT REQUEST LETTER
[HEADING – STATE ADDRESS TO AND FROM]
DATE
Dear _____:
Pursuant Section 552a(d)(1) of the Privacy Act, I request that the Department of the Air Force [STATE NAME OF GOVERNMENT AGENCY] provide me a copy of all records, documents and other information regarding my having been ordered to accept administration of and/or my refusing administration of any COVID vaccination as required by the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Air Force or other military authority, including, but not limited to, all records, notes, memoranda, recordings, correspondence, texts, emails, GOMARS, reprimands and letters of admonishment.
In addition, please provide me a copy of all records, documents and information regarding: [STATE HERE SPECIFIC INFORMATION YOU MIGHT WANT, SIMILAR TO AS STATED BELOW]
- The denial to me of airdrop requalification training during [state period];
- Why I did not receive the Distinguished Flying Cross for my participation in the 2021 Kabul Airlift when several of my colleagues did; and
- My eligibility for and why I was not promoted to [state rank] during [state period].
In order to assist you in your research for these records, please use the following information:
MY FULL NAME:MY CURRENT ADDRESS:
MY DATE OF BIRTH:
MY CITIZENSHIP STATUS:
If you deny any part of this request, please cite each specific exemption that justifies your refusal to provide the information and inform me of any available procedure by which I can appeal the denial.
Please let me know if you have any question. Thank you for your assistance.
[SIGNATURE AND SIGNATURE IDENTIFICATION].
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